Final Fantasy XIII Game Review

The Final Fantasy franchise has stood tall above any other Japanese role-playing game for years now. With fantastic characters, emotional storytelling, and outstanding visuals, it's one of the most recognised video game names in the world. Surprisingly, Final Fantasy XIII (13) abandons allot of the well-loved features Final Fantasy games are known for. The game is much more linear and straight-forward compared to previous titles and this has left allot of fans sceptical. Let go of any concerns you may have, i can honestly say this game is outstanding, it manages to provide characters with unique personality's, in a story and world worth experiencing.

The lead role of Final Fantasy XIII has been given to Lightning, a beautiful but deadly woman who fits the Final Fantasy world perfectly. She is one of six characters you will be able to control. Although the game does stress the fact that Lightning is the primary heroine, it is much like VI in the sense that you control different characters frequently. This multi-story approach, as well as flashbacks, is not only clever but creates a strong structure and a story which will have you on the edge of you're seat at times.

Final Fantasy is not a game series with traditional or predictable outcomes, the dynamic established between the two worlds in XIII (Cocoon & Pulse) is really amazing. It evokes feelings of real emotion and the god-like beings (the Fal'Cie) that protect humanity are extremely important to the plot. The game manages to capture the types of emotion and feeling inspired by Religion with the relationships between Humans and their Fal'Cie counterparts.

The game also manages to create a much more believable story with the tremendous voice acting, the characters all sound excellent and the cast did a fantastic job. Even villains and side characters sounds more impressive than main characters in other games, it's truly inspirational to see this level of work and effort put into a game.

All this is great but a role-playing game is nothing without a decent battle system, thankfully XIII has a great one. What starts out as an extremely simple menu-driven system, slowly begins to transform into one of the most challenging and complex systems I've ever seen in a Final Fantasy game. The level of depth here is truly amazing and will have hardcore RPG fans licking their lips. At the systems roots is the classic ATB (Active Time Battle) principle which has been so successful in the past. When standing in a neutral position, a gauge above you're list of commands will fill up. This gauge is segmented, which means, as it fills other segments are available to be filled. Every action a character can take requires a certain amount of expenditure from the gauge. This new way of battling is fantastic, rather than just selecting one specific attack, players can now build up combos and attack with much more intent.

You can only control one character at a time, however, the actions of all three of your party members are dictated by their roles. There are six roles in Final Fantasy XIII and each character will have access to each of these by the end of the game, each character will be gifted in three of the six roles though. Unlike previous games in the franchise that use a job system, Final Fantasy XIII's roles are invaluable and must be used to survive this harsh journey. The great thing about these roles is that they also effect how you play the game, The Sentinel will constantly be provoking enemies and distracting them, while the Medic will be focusing his/her time on healing. These roles help keep each battle feeling new, fresh, exiting, and above all else, unpredictable. This is why i personally think this is the best battle system in any Final Fantasy game.

Before entering battle players must set up a deck of Paradigms (roles). The Aggression Paradigm, for example, refers to a party composed of two Commandos and one Ravager. The Combat Clinic Paradigm stands for two Medics and one Sentinel. There is a great deal of variety and depth to discover and anyone who is a fan of role-playing games will have a blast with this combat system.

The great thing about the Paradigms is that players can prepare several outside of combat, then switch between them during combat to get the best system suited for each enemy. This might sound simple and unnecessary, but it's not. It's a critical system which you will need to use in order to survive in Final Fantasy XIII, it adds tension to the game and it really felt great using all the Paradigms.

The tension is heightened even more with the chain gauge above each enemies head. As you attack an enemy, this gauge rises. Max this out and you will force you're opponent into a staggered state, allowing you to take advantage as he/she will be more susceptible to damage. Some of the harder enemies can only be defeated in this state, so it's an important aspect of the game which players will need to focus on.

Each battle has a target, if you manage to defeat whoever stands before you and you're goals within the time, you're score will greatly improve. This score effects more than just what spoils you collect from each battle, it also helps build you're technical points. Technical points allow you to perform powerful moves like summons and much more. This gives player real motivation to perform well during battle rather than taking a cheap, or easy way to victory. This is a problem in most RPG's these days so it's great that Final Fantasy XIII fixes this.

It's very easy to understand why so many people love this franchise when you play one of these fast paced, high tension, frantic battles. There is even more satisfaction to be had, players can sink experience points into the Crystarium System. This is essentially just a pretty version of the Sphere Grid from Final Fantasy X. This makes choosing skills, or levelling up you're character feel extremely rewarding and satisfying.

Of course every game must have something fans will complain about and when it comes to Final Fantasy XIII, the biggest complaint from fans is that the game is linear. The first 25 to 30 hours of the game are so linear that you might think you have bought the wrong game, for example, Dungeons are just a series of pathways through various environments. This will likely really frustrate long-time fans of the franchise but i personally think change is needed to keep everything feeling new and fresh, it also helps invite new fans to the game.

The game does open up much like previous games around the 11th chapter (of 13) but some fans might feel like this is a little too late. There are a ton of side missions once it opens up and some incredibly unique beautiful environments to explore.

Something i did miss though was the traditional mini games which have been present in previous games, Blitzball (from Final Fantasy X) being my personal favourite. So outside of the battle-oriented missions there is not much to do. This really isn't a huge deal as the game is outstanding and extremely fun throughout.

The linearity will likely draw in a new crowd of Final Fantasy fans, making it easier and more accessible for beginners. The only problem is towards the end of the game there will be an immense challenge which will push even veterans of the franchise to their limits. This challenge is one of the games high points but could be extremely difficult for the new crowd that the game is attempting to attract.

One final thought to consider, if you own both a PS3 and XBOX 360, grab the PS3 version. They each have the same content, however, the 360 one has noticeably lower resolution and it's spread out across three discs. With a game that looks as phenomenally beautiful as this one, it's best to take advantage and grab the best looking choice available.

Overall the production value on this game is just outstanding. The game has to be one of the most visually impressive i have ever seen, it's simply a work of art. The new combat system works great and feels rewarding, satisfying, and fun to use. The linear approach will be great for new-comers but likely put off hardcore fans, don't let this discourage you from playing one of the greatest games ever made.

There are not enough words to describe a game like this, Breathtaking 9.5/10